Barcelona suffer shock 1-0 defeat by Leganes to cut their lead at the top of La Liga – with Lamine Yamal ‘set to undergo scans on an ankle sprain’ sustained in league clash
- Barcelona failed to extend their lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday evening
- The Catalans suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Leganes at Camp Nou
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Barcelona remained top of La Liga despite a shock 1-0 home defeat on Sunday to Leganes, who had not won all season before Sunday.
Atletico Madrid defeated Getafe 1-0, leaving city rivals Real Madrid to finish second. Both Barcelona and Atletico have 38 points, but Barcelona has a better goal difference.
To double their misfortunes, 17-year-old superstar Lamine Yamal went down injured for Barcelona.
The winger will undergo scans for what is suspected to be an ankle sprain, which could rule him out of their upcoming clash with Atletico.
Atletico played in the first of five La Liga matches on Sunday and won their sixth league match in a row, moving one point ahead of Real, who drew just 3-3 with Real Vallecano on Saturday.
The results set up a mouth-watering clash between the top two in Barcelona next Saturday.
Lamine Yamal’s reported ankle sprain could rule him out of next week’s match against Atletico
Barcelona is level on points with Atletico, which has a game in hand on the leader
Relegation battlers Leganes are four points clear of the drop zone after their shock win
The Madrid side will head into the match with momentum after recording their 11th straight win in all competitions on a chilly afternoon at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Visitor Getafe had only taken two points from seven away games so far this season, but it made life difficult for Diego Simeone’s team. It took until the 70th minute for Atletico to score the winner from Alexander Sorloth’s header.
Barcelona then missed the chance to restore the three-point cushion as they lost to Leganes.
Leganes took the lead after four minutes with a Sergio González header and spent most of the match defending the lead.
Leganes keeper Marko Dmitrović was fantastic, especially in the first half, and Barcelona’s leaders were so ineffective that coach Hansi Flick withdrew Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo and Yamal in the final quarter.
However, his changes had little effect and Leganes, who were promoted from the second tier in May, celebrated a win that moved them up to 15th place, four points clear of the relegation zone.
“Taking the lead so early against teams like this is dangerous because they have so much potential,” said Leganes defender Jorge Saenz. “We were able to defend together and keep them away from our area. Dmitrovic made three saves that were life-saving for us.”
“It’s only three points, but for us they are like gold. It became tight and this gives us some breathing space.”
